The Sahuarita Unified School District, which recently was criticized by the
state schools chief for saying it wouldn't follow the state-mandated program
for English immersion, is seeking permission from the state Education
Department to use an alternate model.

The district also has asked federal officials to document the advice they
gave the district regarding English-language instruction.

The school district filed a request to use a program that differs from the
state program and allow the district some flexibility with its
English-language instruction.

The request comes three weeks after the district governing board decided not
to give the required four hours of English instruction to
non-English-speaking middle- and high-school students.

School district officials said the decision to not implement the
state-mandated English-immersion program was based on advice from U.S.
Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights, which said the state law
was discriminatory.

District officials said the law would prevent middle- and high-school
students from taking the core and elective classes needed for them to be
promoted and graduate on time.

Tom Horne, Arizona superintendent of public instruction, originally said he
was "shocked" by the decision and threatened disciplinary action against the
school district if it didn't comply with the law.

Horne recommended the school district file the request after he learned the
school district has relatively few English-language learners, he said.

"Small numbers are one of the factors that will allow us to approve an
alternative model," Horne said.

State education officials will review the school district's request before
making a recommendation to Arizona's English Language Learner Task Force, he
said.

The task force will then act on the recommendation and possibly make a
decision, he said.

Horne said the task force would likely meet later this month.

Sahuarita originally approved a plan that would give the required four hours
of instruction to elementary-school students, but significantly less to
middle- and high-school students, said assistant Superintendent Manuel
Valenzuela.

The district is seeking permission to continue its current model, which
provides one to two periods of instruction each day for non-English speaking
students in middle and high schools, Valenzuela said.

"The main difference between the current model and the state model is the
amount of dedicated time that must be assigned to language acquisition
instruction," he said.

The school district has about 50 English-language learners in middle and
high schools, he said.

Federal officials started monitoring the school district in 2002 after an
employee complained that the district wasn't providing adequate materials to
teach English-language learners.

Since then, the district has constantly communicated with the Office of
Civil Rights regarding its English-language-learning instruction, Valenzuela
said.

The federal supervision and the state law have put the school district in a
difficult position, he said.

"Our action in either direction puts us at odds with instruction we've
received from the two agencies, federal and state," he said.

If the state task force approves the alternate model, the district would be
in a position to please both sides.

"We believe we have a common ground with all the parties involved in wanting
to promote the success of the students involved," he said.